Fragment
by Art1f1c1Al
Summary: A story about what could have happened if the Archie Sonic universe had never been rebooted.
1. Chapter One: Shard

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS IN THIS STORY, EXCEPT THOSE OF MY OWN CREATION. ALL CHARACTERS NOT CREATED BY ME ARE PROPERTY OF SEGA AND/OR ARCHIE.

Author's Note: This story is based off of the pre genesis wave Archie Sonic continuity. It takes place after the events of #247.4

* * *

Prologue

The reinforced glass doors opened for the first time in a very long while. Cells made of titanium bars, reinforced with power from a Ring Engine, were designed to hold much stronger prisoners than the newest arrival. They were all completely empty. Truth be told, this prisoner in particular was being held down here more to make sure that Eggman couldn't reclaim her than to stop her from escaping. As Sonic took one last look at Mecha Sally, he let out a small sigh. His normally implacable nonchalant attitude showed only the slightest cracks for the extremely observant; barely enough for anyone, even himself, to notice, but it proved that his mind was not immune to the weathering that had constantly been applied on it for so many years. Mecha Sally stared back with the cold glare of a psychopath, one that might have looked robotic and emotionless if it didn't contain a twisted pleasure in seeing the small pain in Sonic's eyes. She was one of the very few that could recognize his pain. Only a few weeks ago, she had been one of the people who were closest to him, maybe even closer than anyone else, but now she was lost to him. Sonic, unable to bear the sight of what she had become any longer, closed the door and climbed back up the many flights of stairs to the outside world.

* * *

Chapter One: Shard's Trial

Geoffrey St. John, once a friend and ally to the freedom fighters and now the vehicle of the false king Ixis Naugus, stood in front of the court and weaved a dramatic tale with only one purpose in mind; to seize power and become the king of New Mobotropolis, an advanced city and one of the few strongholds against the menacing Eggman Empire. St. John had been talking to the council for almost an hour, and his striped tail was beginning to rap against the ground. _This stupid body. I almost wish I stayed in my own...but anything is better than the voices, I suppose._ St. John finished his false tale with one final sentence.

"So with his dying breath, our glorious King Naugus, without any descendants to pass his crown down to, decided after much contemplation to name me, the humble Geoffrey St. John, his heir."

Even though the crowd had been ordered to remain several times, one person couldn't resist sharing his respectful opinion with everyone else. "That story tasted worse than than the bad chili dog I almost ate the other day!" Geoffrey St. John resisted the urge to facepalm. He could have guessed that the Speedster would stir up even more trouble. Even though the possessed skunk couldn't see Sonic, he somehow knew that the blue annoyance would have that stupid grin on his face. The council all were focussed on Sonic now, and their expressions ranged from mild amusement to anger. Rosemary, one of the most prominent Council members, ignored the outburst and questioned St. John's statement.

"So, you say that you were the only one at Naugus' deathbed? Why wasn't Dr. Quack called to see if he could assist him? Why was no one else other than you alerted to this fact? Other than a small remark last week, the Council wasn't even properly notified that Naugus had any kind of condition whatsoever!"

St. John didn't have much of a response to this, as he had expected the Council to take his word for it. Despite a slight chill in the air, he suddenly felt his palms start to sweat a little.

"And what's more is that you expect us to believe that he also elected a heir, something that the council is supposed to be informed about prior to his death, and that he would choose you over someone with more command experience like Sally or Elias!"

St. John tried to muster what little defense he could. "I cannot pretend to understand the ways of our glorious king-"

Sonic jumped to his feet and interrupted once more."So then why are ya trying to follow in his footsteps, huh?" Rotor whispered something into Sonic's ear, and the blue blur rolled his eyes and sat down, grumbling.

"While Sonic's interruption was not appreciated, his point is valid. Do you have any way to validate the fact that the King elected you as his heir?"

"Umm..."

"I'm sorry St. John, but until you can find some way of proving that you are indeed King Naugus' heir you will not be able to assume the crown. I think this council is closed for today. After all, we have a much more pressing trial ahead of us!"

Geoffrey St. John walked out of the council chambers, furious at how his grab for power had gone. As he walked out, the defendant of the next trial walked in; it was none other than the reformed Metal Sonic called Shard. The green lines snaking around Shard's entire body glowed a little brighter than normal, as if he was a little nervous about the trial. The large grin on his face, though, served to deny any appearance of anxiety. As the robotic hedgehog walked down the middle of the Council Chamber, glancing from side to side to gauge people's reactions, Shard realized that many people hated him. Badniks weren't people, they were mindless slaves to Robotnik and the only way to deal with them was to destroy them. Shard reached the small circle of councillors and came to a stop, along with about a dozen soldiers with weapons at the ready. Shard knew that, if he wanted to, he could easily have killed almost everyone in the room. He made a hasty note to himself to not mention that to anyone. Rosemary called for all to be silent and the sound in the room dropped from rock concert volume to absolute silence in all of five seconds.

"Shard, also known as Metal Sonic, you have previously attempted to kill one of our most prominent heroes, Sonic the Hedgehog, several times, and have been considered an acute threat to public safety for a very long time. You also were inside of our city illegally for at least several months, although it was Uncle Chuck who rebuilt you. If you hadn't needed our help when you were trapped in that desert, we probably never would have heard from you at all. Why should we accept you into our city?"

"I've changed. I'm not controlled by Eggman anymore, and I don't want to fight Sonic."

"Can anyone confirm that your personality has really changed? This wouldn't be the first time Eggman has tried to infiltrate New Mobotropolis."

"Well, if my new paint job alone isn't awesome enough to convince you, several upstanding citizens will vouch for me including Uncle Chuck, Harvey Hoot, and King Elias."

"Whom were all members of the so-called 'secret freedom fighters'." Rosemary chose to ignore the fact that Shard had referred to Elias as a king. Given the previous council meeting, it wasn't a can of worms she wanted opened at that moment.

"Sonic also knows that I've changed. I saved Tails awhile back, and I just helped him fight off some crazy plant thing!"

"Sonic? Do you care to elaborate?"

Sonic's head shot up from his chair. He'd fallen asleep in the middle of St. John's tirade, bored out of his mind after he was prevented to talk."Yeah! I wasn't asleep or anything! Shard's cool!" Sonic must've been fast in more ways than just his feet, because he somehow gauged the entire situation and worked out what he was supposed to say midsentence.

Rosemary knew that Sonic had been asleep, and sighed internally."Thank you, Sonic. Shard, due to positive reports from almost everyone we've talked to, you are hereby granted full rights as a citizen of New Mobotropolis, which includes the right to join the Freedom Fighters. However," Rosemary's tone grew noticeably hostile as she transitioned sentences, "if you so much as step a single toe out of line, or you show any signs of reverting to Eggman's control… we have a very large recycling facility here, and rest assured we need all the scrap metal we can get. "

Many Mobians in the audience were downright astonished that someone as collected as Rosemary would allow such hostility towards Shard creep into her voice, but Harvey Hoot could tell that it was just an act, both to appeal to the people who didn't like Shard and to impress upon Shard how much scrutiny he'd be under. Shard, however, appeared unimpressed.

"Me? Scrap metal? How about I trash some of Eggman's mechs instead?" An uproar of laughter and cries of "Yeah!" immediately followed this remark.

The council was called to a close, and a successful Shard flew out of the building, a white jet trail trying unsuccessfully to catch his engine. Twin blue and yellow streaks followed closely behind; Sonic and Tails were curious to see what Shard would do first, and also wanted to keep a close eye on him.

Shard set down by a small bench. A little pond was only a few feet away, and in the trees surrounding the grassy clearing were vibrant leaves of red and yellow. He knew Sonic and Tails were closely following him. The new citizen raised his right hand and slowly counted down from five. Right on schedule, he heard the rustling branches give way to two familiar faces.

"Hiya Shard! What's up?"

"I'm just enjoying my new freedom. After this, I'll probably go join Team Fighters or something."

"Cool! Tails, have anything to say 'bout that?"

"I think that you'll be more needed on Team Freedom, robot." Tails said in a sullen tone.

"Sorry Tails, did I do anything to offend you?" Shard offered, though he had a nagging suspicion what the kit was upset about.

"No, I enjoy being tied up against the side of an active volcano and used as bait to get Sonic to fall for your stupid trap. Please, feel free to continue to _not offend me_." Tails flew off, finished communicating his anger at Shard. The robot looked down, and Sonic winced at how harsh his little bro had been.

"It's okay, Shard. He's just a little upset. I'm a little faster to forgive, but he'll come around eventually."

"I know, I just kinda...feel bad about everything I did. I'm starting to see the downside to these emotion thingies."

"Don't dwell on them, and you'll be fine. Hey, I just realized that you're the only one in this entire city that can come even close to my speed. Wanna race?"

"You're on! Last one to circle around the city perimeter a hundred times has to buy the other a hundred cans of motor oil!"

"I think you mean chili dogs, 'cause I'm gonna beat ya!"

Both hedgehogs immediately jumped off the bench they were standing on. Sonic stayed in place for a split second as he built up speed, but Shard fired his rocket engine before he touched the ground. Despite having rocket smoke thrown in his face, Sonic grinned and let all his speed loose. The hundred laps around the city limits were more like a twenty yard sprint for a normal person; when you can run at the speed of sound and beyond, a few hundred miles aren't something to fret about. Sonic caught up to Shard in the middle of the race because of the extra speed he had charged up, but then Shard started putting out even more juice. Neither of them were running at their full speed, but they both were a little surprised that the other could keep up. Sonic won the race when, on the last lap, he sped up before Shard could react. Though no observer would have been able to tell who won, both Shard and Sonic knew that it had been the latter of the two.

"Dang, you're fast. I guess I owe you a hundred chili dogs…how exactly am I supposed to get that money?"

"Tell ya what, if you join Team Fighters instead of Team Freedom, I'll give you a pass this one time."

"Sounds like a plan! I only hope that you don't get too upset when I'm suddenly destroying more Badniks than you."

"In your dreams, Metal-me."

Before Shard could come up with a retort, a certain holo-lynx appeared in front of both of them.

"Hey Nicole, what's up?" Sonic asked the slightly panicked lynx. Shard didn't say anything, but Sonic could have sworn that his face turned a little red. He dismissed the thought; how could a robot blush?

"Sonic! You have to report to Freedom HQ immediately! It's Eggman, he's attacking again!"

"Please! When's that loser gonna learn that he can't possibly win? If I had a dollar for every robot of his I destroyed..."Sonic's voice trailed off as he turned his head and saw the extremely dirty look Shard was giving him. "Heh, heh, heh..."

"Fine, whatever, I'll give you that one. Last one to Freedom HQ is an overcooked chili dog!" Shard sped off before he finished saying the word "dog". Sonic grinned and his afterimage froze his carefree smile long after the hedgehog was gone.

* * *

Author's Note: Hey guys, I know that the prologue seems irrelevant to the story so far, but it'll be important to have that later so that I can easier work with Mecha Sally and Sonic's interactions easier without completely changing the dynamics in the comics. If you think this chapter is good, or a piece of crap, please feel free to let me know. I'd also appreciate it if you give me some reasons so I can improve myself. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter Two: City Defense

Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to upload this chapter. School's been tough, and I've had some family stuff going on...and Halo 5 came out. Yeah, sue me, I'm a huge Halo 5 fanboy. Hopefully I'll be able to upload some longer stuff soon, but until then, this is what I've got for y'all. Whoever sent me the advice on dialogue, thanks! I appreciate it and did my best to implement better dialogue in this chapter. If anyone has any advice for me, feel free to tell me, flame me, whatever you have to do to get your point across. Legal crap from the last chapter applies here, and to all portions of this story.

* * *

Sonic and Shard arrived at Freedom HQ at the same time. To the average eye, the terra-cotta brick walls and grass roof may not have appeared very threatening. However, both Shard and Sonic knew that underneath those aesthetics was reinforced concrete and solid metal, capable of surviving almost anything that Robotnik threw at them. Sonic knocked on the wooden door and Amy opened it for him.

"Hey Sonic! Everyone is," Amy paused, looked at Shard for a second, and processed what she was looking at. "A badnik! Sonic, do something!

"Amy, calm down! Shard's cool, He's on our side."

"Yeah, I'm here to help fight Robotnik." Shard spoke up, nervously eying the massive hammer about an inch from his face.

"Argh! Why didn't anyone tell me?

"I dunno, I guess we forgot to tell you." Sonic tried to discreetly give Shard the crazy signal, but Amy noticed it and her face reddened.

"You guys always forget! You know, one of these days you're going to drive me-"

"Amy, could we do this later? Eggman's attacking and I really have to get down there!"

"Hmph! Just hurry up and go already!"

Sonic and Shard didn't take their time going down the grey stairwell, partly because of how urgent the situation was and partly because they were eager to get away from Amy.

"Is she always like that?" Shard asked Sonic.

"Na, Amy's way past. She's just upset because we lost a friend recently, and then another left, and...yeah. Lotsa chaos the past few weeks."

"Sorry to hear that."

"Honestly, I've heard that from so many people lately, I'm starting to get a little sick of it."

"Whatever. Is that the door up ahead?"

Sonic nodded, and stuck his tongue out at the camera at the top of the titanium-plated door. Even if he'd wanted to, the door was so strong that there was no way for him to smash through it. A red light blinked green for a split second, and the huge door swung open.

Inside, Tails and Rotor sat intensely coordinating the defensive forces of New Mobotropolis. Rotor swivelled his chair to face Sonic and Shard, but Tails kept his head buried in his work.

"Tails and I have detected the Death Egg in low orbit. Eggman's probably already started to deploy his badniks, so we don't have much time. We're dealing with at least two Badnik Hordes and a Dark Egg Legion, and it looks like Metal Sonic's leading them. And that's if Eggman doesn't have anything else up his sleeve."

"Let's face it, Rote, Eggy _always_ has something up his sleeve"

"You've got a point there."

Tails voiced a warning to everyone. "Whatever you're going to do, do it fast! Eggman's already deploying his troops!"

"Oh ye of little faith. Shard, you ready to smash some badniks?"

"I dunno, I'm not very into self-harm..." Shard said, feigning disturbance.

Tails suddenly grew furious. "Shard, knock it off! This isn't a joke!"

Sonic gave his orange friend a concerned look."Tails, I joke around all the time! Why are you getting so mad about it now?"

Tails felt ashamed, but not enough to calm his temper. "But...it's different when you do it!"

"How is it different when I do it?"

"It just is!"

"Tails, are you okay?"

"I'm just...yeah. I'm fine."

"Listen. I know you don't like Shard, but if you two can't work together, New Mobotropolis is screwed."

"I said I'm fine!" Tails got up from his seat and leaned on the table. Shard looked a little embarrassed, but didn't get involved.

"Okay. But after we deal with Buttnik, you, I, and Shard are gonna have a little heart-to-heart chat. Got it?"

"Fine! Just focus on the mission, please."

Shard interjected," Well guys, I hate to agree with the kitsune but he's kinda right. Eggman already deployed, so we need to take out all the badniks fairly quickly. "

Rotor looked at everyone with a serious stare in his eye.

"Listen up. We haven't been able to tell exactly what Eggman is bringing to this fight, everything I said earlier was an estimation. But Eggman's probably here to get Mecha Sally back, which means he's bringing almost everything he's got. Once GUN lets us use one of their satellites, we'll be able to get more info. Got it?" Shard and Tails nodded their heads, and Sonic gave Rotor a thumbs-up. "Ok then. Break!"

All three ran out the door, Sonic grabbing Amy over his shoulder on his way out. Amy looked surprised for a second, and then excited. She couldn't wait to bust some Badniks. Getting to New Mobotropolis took about ten minutes, because both Shard and Sonic were slowed down by Amy and Tails. The ride over was uneventful, but right outside the city limits Shard's engine suddenly stopped and he tumbled across the road. Sonic winced.

"Engine problems, Shard?" Tails asked in a snarky tone.

Shard got up quickly, and looked very annoyed. "Sorry guys, Rotor just applied a silent firmware patch to me without telling me,' Shard motioned for everyone to start running again and the entire group continued to speed towards the city." The good thing is that he can now talk with me over an open channel. He says Eggman's forces are concentrated in three locations: the prison, the castle, and the city council!"

"How'd Egghead's robots get through the shield so fast?" Sonic asked, casually running backwards to give Tails a chance to catch up.

"Rotor's still trying to work on it. Here, I'll put him on speaker." There was a burst of static from Shard's speakers and the robot's voice was replaced with Rotor's.

"Sonic! Sonic! Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear!"

"The plaza is right in front of you guys, so fight off all the badniks there, then split up! Amy, return here to help me plan the attack! I need someone over here. Shard and Tails, you take care of the city council-"

Tails started to protest and Sonic looked at him. Tails sighed(not an easy feat to perform when one is running at the speed of sound), and his eyes bore holes into Shard. Rotor kept talking."-and Sonic, you've got the prison! Do whatever it takes to save everyone! Got it?"

"Yeah! Come on guys, let's go bust some heads!"

Shard's voice returned to normal just as the three freedom fighters arrived at the castle. A couple hundred Badniks were clustered around a menacing Silver Sonic, a Badnik commander the size of a room.."It looks like there's a pretty big force here. What's the plan?"

"Who needs plans? Winging it's way cooler!" Sonic replied, jumping before he finished his sentence straight into the huge mob. Tails rolled his eyes and Shard grinned and started firing his chest laser in measured bursts. Red Motobugs and yellow Buzzbombers flew against the walls, metal fracturing into thousands of tiny pieces, as Sonic spun around the inside of his own personal tornado. Silver Sonic, however, was made of stronger stuff than the other puny Badniks. The tornado tried and failed to lift Silver Sonic off its feet, and Silver Sonic retaliated with a heavy punch. Sonic took a direct hit and went flying, and with a shocked expression on his face Tails flew after him. Silver Sonic stepped in the direction of Tails and Sonic but Shard barred its path.

"Hey! You and me, now." he said with a grin on his face.

Silver Sonic's eyes dimmed and brightened again as he scanned Shard.

"You cannot defeat me with your inferior strength. Prepare for imminent destruction."

"Ugh, Eggman's still making his robots sound like characters from _Tron_?"

Silver Sonic payed no attention to Shard's banter and rolled right at him. Shard dodged the attack effortlessly and let out a synthetic yawn.

"Well, if Eggman wonders why we beat his army again, tell him that he should model his Badniks off something other than garden pests." Shard pushed his thruster to its highest setting and shot straight through Silver Sonic. The behemoth collapsed as Shard hopped out a hole at the other end, juggling a few critical components in his hands. Shard laughed silently, imagining the look on his former creator's face when he received the message, but his laugh paused midway when he considered the destruction to the building around him. At least a dozen homes were ruined, some beyond repair, and rubble blanketed the ground. Shard had been in many battlefields before, but it was different seeing the closest thing he had to a home burn. _How does Sonic bear losing so much so often?_ , Shard wondered. Then, with a jolt, Shard remembered how Sonic had been knocked from the battle. _Better go check on him_ , he decided, and shot over to where Sonic had been launched.

Shard stopped near a collapsed, burning building to see a slightly embarrassed, but otherwise fine, Sonic dusting himself off along with a relieved Tails.

"Hey Shard! Did you take care of Silver Sonic?"

"He was a piece of cake! I barely broke a sweat."

"Stop bragging, robots can't sweat" Tails sourly commented, his mood darkened once more by the arrival of Shard.

"Tails! What's wrong with you? Shard's done nothing but help us since he was rebuilt, and all you're doing is being a jerk to him!"

"He left me in a volcano! He's Eggman's creation! I don't trust him!"

Shard tried to bring some peace back into the "Maybe you'll trust me more after we save the Council together."

"Don't count on it." Tails grumbled, but before Sonic could reprimand him again, Rotor patched himself into the conversation through Shard.

"Woa. Sorry. Rotor's here. Guys, there's been a few big complications. First off, the Badnik Horde by the prison has managed to break in. You guys have about three minutes before they manage to break Mecha Sally out. But there's an even bigger horde by the Council, and it's being led by Metal Sonic. I don't know if just Shard and Tails will be enough to stop them. Amy's coming, but I don't know if the three of you will be enough to stop Metal Sonic and an entire horde of Badniks..."

"Rotor, can Amy fly the Tornado here with a few power rings? Maybe those will be enough to power up Shard a bit. I'd help, but we can't let them get Mecha Sally again! See ya guys, gotta juice!" Sonic ran away, the sonic boom flinging ashes and dust into the air. Tails looked at Shard angrily. Shard looked away. He couldn't be mad at Tails; Shard had done unforgivable things to Tails, and knew that it could take a while to make it up to him. Staring at the blazing cinders of his new home, Shard made a silent vow; somehow, someway, he would make it up to Tails.


	3. Chapter Three: Mobosylum

Hey guys! I really appreciate the reviews that I've gotten! They've been really helpful to me. I'm not the best writer, but I really want to improve and I can't do that without your help. I've been pretty bad about frequent uploads, but I should have more time for writing soon. This chapter's pretty short compared to my last two, but I'm trash at writing combat sequences and it's pretty much nothing but combat. One more thing, some of the scenes in this are slightly descriptive in terms of battlefield damage, so I might bump the rating up to T. It isn't too bad, but better safe than sorry!

* * *

Sonic knew that he could easily beat a few dozen badniks within his three-minute time limit. However, he still hurried to the prison. On his way, Sonic noticed how quiet and calm the streets were. _I'm glad that none of the fighting has spilled over into these neighborhoods_. The thought of terrified kids being attacked by badniks was enough to make Sonic redouble his pace. _I guess Sal getting taken isn't the only thing I gotta think about, huh?_ Sonic was spared having to think about thinking by the hiss of a blowtorch a hundred meters off, and the sight of a badnik trying to burn the prison door off. Sonic felt like laughing at the idea of the badnik trying to melt the door off of its hinges, until said hinges started glowing white hot.

"Whaddya think you're doing?" Sonic yelled as the robot successfully burned through the first hinge, leaving only one remaining.

The Badnik never managed to completely break through the door, though, mostly due to the supersonic punch that smashed its torso into a million tiny fragments. Sonic took the badnik's place in front of the door and stared down the entire mob of badniks, shaking off the hand he had destroyed the badnik with.

"Man, those punches hurt. But I think it was worth it to send my message across. No one is touching this door." Sonic said, readying himself for a fight.

The murderous crowd of robots looked at each other for a second, and started backing up slightly. Then one of them pointed at Sonic and let out a metallic screech. Soon the entire crowd was screaming and readying their weapons.

"Fine! If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get!" Sonic said.

He jumped at the last second, dodging every laser the crowd fired at him, and leapt headlong into the horde. Nothing could touch him, but Eggman's finest did an excellent job of hitting themselves. At one point, Sonic just ducked low to the ground and the ring of badniks around him all managed to hit themselves with laser fire. Even without the friendly-fire antics, Sonic still could dish out a lot of hurt. However, he was up against hundreds of enemies, and even the blue blur could tire out. By the time Sonic got to the last Badnik, his hands, feet, and quills were sore from breaking through metal so many times. Sonic grinned a tired smile and looked up to the sky.

"I dunno why I expected more from you, Eggy! You never fail to fail!" He didn't expect Eggman to answer back.

"Oh, drat, hedgehog! You've ruined my spearhead. I guess I'll just have to send in the reinforcements. Ho ho ho!" The evil doctor's voice echoed through the air, the harbinger to a massive wave of badnik ships arriving to the battle. Though Sonic was secretly slightly concerned about the huge number of badniks he was now facing, if there was one thing he knew, it was to always annoy Eggman when he had a chance.

"Thanks Eggman, I appreciate it!"

"What are you mumbling on about, you pathetic pincushion? My minions will make mincemeat out of you!"

"I was just saying, if you sent some competent troops, I might have to actually fight! Thanks for sending me enemies that'll shoot themselves if I jump fast enough!"

"How dare you insult my genius, you miserable Mobian! Badnik legion, attack!"

Sonic went for the tried-and-tested sidestep tactic, when he realised that he had been standing right in front of the prison door. The torrent of energy proved too much for the metal door to handle, and the door flashed red and detonated, knocking Sonic off his feet. The entire legion ran right at Sonic, and the fastest member managed to get past him. Sonic turned around and charged through the badnik, but his back was exposed to a volley of laser fire. Sonic screamed out in pain and collapsed on the ground, face first. Eggman's voice blasted through the air once more.

"Ho, ho ho ho ho ho ho! Excellent job, my supreme servants! Don't kill that infernal animal yet. I want to savor his death...Go, and get the roboticized chipmunk you all came here for!"

The machines obeyed and went inside the compound to retrieve Mecha Sally for their master. Sonic, still barely conscious, was knocked to his senses by a kick to the side. Feeling damaged spines barely hanging on to his burnt skin, Sonic's condition allowed him to do nothing except feel massive pain, and listen to what Mecha Sally's cold voice had to say.

"You will pay for locking me up, and for your crimes against the Eggman Empire. And I will enjoy watching you suffer." Instead of waiting for a response, she bent down, moved her face about an inch away from his, and yanked a row of spines off of his back. Sonic howled in agony, and for the first time ever he saw Mecha Sally's normally flat mouth curve into a twisted, sadistic smile. She stood up, and left his prone body behind, pausing for only one more distraction. Sonic's communicator, damaged in the fight by a stray blast was trying its hardest to push out one final signal. Tails' desperate face appeared on the cracked screen.

"help...mom...shard...kill...nuclear...Sonic..."

Tails' plea for help was terminated with a loud snapping sound as Mecha Sally crushed the communicator beneath her foot.


	4. Chapter Four: Fragment, Part One

Hey guys! Thanks for reviewing everything I've written so far! Everyone's been awesome, and the criticisms I've received have all been very helpful and kindly worded. This next chapter might have a few spelling mistakes, because I got a new Windows 10 computer and it's got this weird automatic spellchecker that's doing stuff I don't like. Also, it's gonna be a little gory, so I'll have a plot summary below the story if you're squeamish about graphic scenes. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Four: Fragment, Part One

While Sonic was trying(and failing) to stop Eggman from getting Mecha Sally, Tails and Shard had an even harder job on their hands; they had to save the entire council from an army of Badniks led by Metal Sonic. In contrast to the route Sonic had taken, the neighborhoods Shard and Tails ran through revealed terrible destruction at the hands of the Eggman Empire. Houses threatened to collapse because of laser holes that had melted through supports. Crying children huddled against the frigid air in partially intact ruins, more than one of the little kids sporting minor cuts and bruises. Nanites shifted and turned as the city did its best to repair . Shard and Tails screeched to a stop in front of the remnants of the council building. For once, Tails and Shard shared the same expression as they looked at the surrounding ruins in shock. All of the plants were razed to the ground, every rock covered in carbon-scoring. Shard was the first to tear his gaze away from the destruction to see the Badnik transport shuttles land down.

"They are going to pay for what they have done" Shard said, a rising fury in his core causing his eyes to glow with a bright intensity. He catalogued the emotion for later analysis, and ran pre-combat diagnoses. Tails nodded and raised his fists, left tail twitching in anticipation of the fight ahead. Across the small, grassy plaza next to the Council, Metal Sonic casually stepped off of his transport, crushing the dead grass beneath his feet with a loud crunch. He was backed up by a squad of fifty Dark Egg Legionaries, each one packing heavy firepower.

"Tails, you get the small fry and I'll handle Metal." Shard said, keeping his eyes on Metal Sonic. Tails frowned, but ran to intercept the Legionnaires.

Metal Sonic droned an announcement that sounded more like a legal precaution than a threat."All citizens of this system are subject to termination for defiance against the Eggman Empire, effective immediately. Stand down, and minimum suffering is probable."

"I gave you a chance, last time we met. I won't make the same mistake again!" Shard growled with a contempt almost lost in his electronic voice.

Metal Sonic's eyes glowed brighter. "All right, 'Brother'. You want a fight?"

"Bring it on! It's like I said before-" Shard closed the distance between him and Metal Sonic so fast that a smirking after image was left in his wake.

"Accept no imitations!" He finished, fist flying into...thin air?

"Too slow." Metal Sonic was behind Shard, and tore into his abdomen with razor-sharp claws. Shard shrugged the blow off and countered with a back-kick, but Metal Sonic simply grabbed the foot and squeezed. Servos whirred and circuits gave way as the boot slowly caved in on itself. He tore the ruined hunk of metal off of Shard's leg and dropped it on the ground. The evil robot tried to reach into Shard's chest and rip out his power stone, but Tails intervened just in time.

"I might dislike Shard, but I hate you!" He said, denting Metal Sonic's head with a devastating spin kick. Metal Sonic went flying into a pile of unconscious Legionnaires, but quickly recovered. His eyes narrowed and he rushed towards the vulnerable Tails.

"Here's some free advice" Shard said, jet engine burning the grass beneath him as it propelled him, and his fist, straight into Metal Sonic. "Next time you're battling a robot, don't waste your time showing off!"

Metal Sonic recovered quickly and landed on the ground. "I tire of this". He closed the distance between Shard and himself with a quick roll."You're of an inferior design-" He kicked one of Shard's knees out from under him."-And while you're stronger than the rest of these puny Mobians-"The blue robot then forced Shard down on his knees, his chest laser charging up for the finishing blow. "-You're nowhere near as strong as I am." Metal Sonic's laser glowed one last time, indicating it was fully charged. "Any last words?"

"Heh. You may be stronger, but I'm faster!" Shard broke Metal's grip, and backflipped over him. Metal Sonic fired his chest beam a split-second too late. Tails followed up with a kick to the back, knocking his robot adversary over for a second, and final, time. Shard aimed his laser to finish Metal Sonic off, but Tails pushed his arm away.

"Hey! Rotor might want to study this later!"

"He's dangerous! He could come back online at any minute!"

Metal Sonic took his advantage and fired a second shot at Shard, who managed to cartwheel at the last second. Shard thought he had made it, until a critical warning popped up in his processor and three of his four limbs slid off. Shard's pain receptors automatically shut themselves off. The robot was left with no legs and one arm, his engine sputtering with the effort of keeping him in the air. Metal had no face, but if he did, it would have been smiling as he pushed himself up, gripped Shard's neck and crushed it in a thousand pieces in one fluid motion. Tails looked on in horror, knowing that it was completely his fault..

"You're gonna pay for that!" Tails yelled angrily.

"You think you can stop me?" Metal Sonic's voice was curious.

"I don't need to! Quick, what's one divided by zero?"

Metal Sonic stopped all actions and his irises glowed a burning red. Tails pulled out his radio transceiver and started recording a message to Sonic. When no response came, Tails frantically started messaging Rotor.

Before he could finish the text file, Metal Sonic's eyes dimmed to their normal level and his voice filled the air. "Firmware update downloaded. That trick no longer works on me."

His laser hummed again, heating up for yet another volley. Just as Tails tensed for a quick dodge, the humming stopped.

Metal Sonic spoke once more. "New orders. She'll deal with you." He then turned and walked towards the council hall.

"There's no way I'm letting you hurt the Council!" Tails growled, starting after him.

"Hello sweetie. Let the adults handle politics." Mecha Sally's engine blazed with a burning orange flame as she grabbed Tails' neck from behind and landed in the same motion. One of the fox's tails had been singed by the heat, the blackened tip an opposite of its white counterpart. Tails growled even louder as he tried to fight the rock-solid grip of Mecha Sally, but his yells were as useless as Shard's metallic husk lying a few meters away.

"If you want, we can go watch. I'm sure you'd love to see your mother, one last time." Tails fought even harder, his frenzied hands pushing as hard as he could against the hand holding his neck. The fox still couldn't get enough force to break free of Mecha Sally's grip because of the way she was holding him. Mecha Sally braced against the ground quickly, and shot herself forward straight through the entrance to the hall.

Inside, Metal Sonic had subdued all of the council members. Rosemary was the only one still standing, but she had several scratches including a set of long cuts down her left cheek. She wasn't able to stop Metal Sonic from knocking her legs out from under her, and the robot sat poised for the final blow.

"You have one more chance. Surrender to the Eggman Empire, or die."

Tails interrupted with a loud cry. "Mom!" He spun his tails so fast that Mecha Sally started to lose her traction on the floor.

"Can't have you interfering." Mecha Sally dug her free hand deep into Tails' back, and closed her hand around a section of his lower spine. As she started to pull, Tails cried out in complete agony. Blood started spurting from the wound, and soon completely drenched both the wound and Mecha-Sally's hand. Still, she kept pulling until his vertebrae severed with a loud popping noise, opening her hand to let Tails fall off of the knives that were her fingers. Rosemary glanced over and, seeing what Mecha Sally had done to Tails, became sick. The poor, unconscious fox was drenched in a pool of his own blood, and sprawled on the floor. His spine, now snapped in two, poked out of a gaping hole in his back. Rosemary's eyes bore lasers into Mecha Sally, her previous pity exchanged for a complete loathing as she spoke what could have been her last words.

"You better kill me. I don't care if we can change you back or not, I'm going to tear your black heart out with my bare hands. I'm going to turn your pain capacitors to a million percent and shut you in a room full of acid. I'm going to-" She couldn't finish her sentence because of a slap in the face by Metal Sonic. The robot started to speak, but Mecha Sally walked over and held up a finger to where his mouth should have been. She looked down at Rosemary with menacing glee.

"I'd love to see you try. I want to punish another one responsible for this disgusting resistance. Especially since you're disposable. Ready to die?"

Tails regained a small portion of his consciousness. He saw Mecha Sally take aim, and he tried to pull himself across the slick ground to Mecha Sally and Rosemary.

"No...no...!" Tails tried to scream, but his lungs couldn't pull in enough air to get the words out. He saw Mecha Sally's claws start their fatal descent, a flash of light and a boom, and then everything went black.

* * *

Plot Summary:

\- Shard and Tails find the bombed-out remnants of the Council Building

\- Metal Sonic tries to intercept them, and a fight ensues

\- Metal Sonic decapitates Shard

\- Mecha Sally fights Tails

\- Mecha Sally incapacitates Tails

\- Mecha Sally starts to kill Rosemary

\- Tails blacks out

If you guys want me to start leaving plot summaries on every chapter, feel free to send me a PM or add it onto a review. I'm happy to start doing that if people want me too. Also, sorry for the cliffhanger, but this chapter was taking too long and it was a little longer than what I wanted a normal chapter to be. The good thing is that I should have the next chapter completed in a week or two, so expect an update to the story pretty soon. Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter Five: Fragment, Part Two

Hey guys! Really sorry about the late upload, but it couldn't be avoided. School has been more difficult second semester for some reason, and I've really had to step up my game. Also, I've had a lot of reorganization to do to the main story. Being my first story and all, I really underestimated the amount of planning that goes into a good story and I had to plan out the story in greater detail to avoid plotholes and make the story more fluid. Sorry again for the late upload!

* * *

Outside of the ruined council building, the scorched environment painted a bleak parallel to the scene unfolding inside the council building. Tails had fainted with his final plea fresh off his lips. However, if Tails was an inch away from death due to his injuries, Rosemary was even closer. Mecha Sally held her bloodstained claws high in the air, stoic face incapable of expressing the sadistic pleasure she took in Rosemary's last moments. Unbeknownst to the robot, however, there was still one salvation Rosemary could grapple onto.

In the fields of dead grass, a certain hedgehog duplicate wasn't as dead as Metal Sonic had hoped. Dead limbs netted themselves back together, and a cracked power gem sparked with the light of a thousand chaos emeralds as a dead avenger rose to save a dead mother. When all was complete, Shard was up and running. Ignoring a warning about armor integrity, Shard flew across the field and through the wall. The assault completely caught Mecha Sally off guard, buying Rosemary a few precious seconds of life and angering Metal Sonic to no end.

"Impossible. You should have been terminated." He said, lights all around his body steadily glowing brighter."Now get off of the Robian."

Shard and Mecha Sally fought tooth and nail, neither one registering Metal Sonic's command. This only served to agitate him further.

"Answer me, inferior!" Metal Sonic roared, pulling Shard off Mecha Sally and punching him in the face. Mecha Sally growled and sliced across Shard's chest, scratching his power core and gouging huge chunks of metal out of his armor. The metallic screech woke Tails up, prompting the fox to drag himself to his mother's side.

"Tails...If I don't make it out of this, I want you to know that I love you and will always be proud of you..."

"Mom...No...Shard will...save..you" Tails said, barely able to remain conscious much less talk.

"Just look...at him." Tails forced himself to turn his head and saw that his mother was right. Shard's fight wasn't going well. His body was devastated, and what little paint still clung to his chest was scratched and worn. Even his power gem, a device almost equal in power to a chaos emerald, flickered and threatened to shut down. Metal Sonic kicked one of his legs off, across the room, and Shard fell onto his one remaining knee. Mecha Sally walked over to Tails' mother and readied her claws. Tails wasn't conscious enough to recognize the bitter irony of the entire situation.

"No more interruptions. You will die now, Mobians." Mecha Sally said, chiseled mouth stagnant and unmoving as always. In a single stroke, she kneeled down to Rosemary's level and drove a ringblade through her stomach, and pulled the blade out with a sickening hiss. Rosemary collapsed onto the ground, blood oozing out of the lacerations all over her body. Mecha Sally's cyan eyes betrayed no reaction to the agony of a former friend.

"One enemy has been terminated. You both will follow." She said, finally bored of playing with her food. Tails looked up at her with the most sorrowful expression that had ever been born on the young fox's face. "Why? Why, Sally? Why?" His voice raised from a pathetic moan to a furious scream as his sorrow turned to hatred. "Why would you do that!? What did she ever do to you!?" His voice grew so loud that Metal Sonic stopped punching Shard to look up incredulously.

Mecha Sally looked back at him, poker face never as cruel as it was now. "She defied Eggman. All who do will be terminated. No exception."

Tails gave out. His body and mind had received too much pain to continue. Tails fainted, leaving Shard alone in his fight.

"Now you've gone too far. Nobody harms my friend like that and gets away with it!" Shard said, voice alight with righteous fury. He jumped up on his one knee, and spin dashed straight into Mecha Sally's core. The force of the impact was enough to dislodge the ring inside her, forcing Mecha Sally into standby mode. He then turned to face Metal Sonic, who was analyzing the remnants of the council building.

"I don't like the way this is going. Time for plan B." he said, dislodging his power core

and throwing it at Mecha Sally's feet. His eyes then replaced themselves with a far more sinister image; a timer counting down from 20 seconds. Shard looked horrified.

"No! You'll destroy the entire city!"

"You concur with my analysis?"

"Analyse this!" Shard yelled, flying into Metal Sonic. Shard thrust his hand through Metal Sonic's torso and clenched as hard as he could. He took one of his precious remaining seconds to look at Tails, lying unconscious on the shattered floor.

 _I hope you forgive me after this. I guess I'll never know if you do or not...but either way, this is for you, buddy. And for you, Nicole._

Metal Sonic looked at him angrily.

"What are you doing?"

"Becoming what you never can."

Shard fired his thrusters as hard as they could possibly go. A sonic boom shot out in all

directions as Shard broke the sound barrier. The friction from the air started to burn away the weakened paint remaining on Shard's body until the black robot was steel grey. Metal Sonic fought against Shard's grip as hard as he could, but Shard had embedded his hand into Metal Sonic's jet engine and he couldn't break away. Metal Sonic's eyes, now at 5 seconds, ticked away, counting down to Shard's oblivion. Metal Sonic suddenly stopped resisting and looked at Shard with an annoyed expression.

"I will survive this. You will not."

"But they will. And she will."

"What use are they if you aren't around to see them?"

"You'll never know. And I wouldn't trade places with you for the world."

"I am superior, brother."

"Maybe. But at least I get a good end-."

Metal Sonic's eyes flashed from one to zero, obliterating everything within a ten-mile radius. Shard's titanium body was vaporized in an instant from the potent nuclear blast. Shard's power core was too strong to be vaporized, but the insane pressure and heat served to crush and melt his core into microscopic pieces. The winds from the blast flew far and wide, spreading the fragments of who Shard was far and wide. As all the Mobians below looked on in horror at the massive explosion filling their sky, only three truly knew what it meant. Tails, Nicole, and Mecha Sally all looked to the sky, two with tears in their eyes, and the other with grim satisfaction. Mecha Sally picked up Metal Sonic's power core and flew away from New Mobotropolis, Shard's glittering ashes lighting her way back.

* * *

Well, you guys just found out why the story's called Fragment. How'd you guys like that chapter? Feel free to leave a review for the chapter. I really appreciate them, especially the more critical ones. My goal isn't to feel good about my writing skills, it's to tell a good story and any feedback really helps me with that goal. As a final note, for people with more experience than I have on this site, how should I handle status updates when I go for long periods of time without uploading a chapter? Should I post a new chapter explaining the issue, or edit an existing chapter, or something else? I'd appreciate any advice you have for me. Thanks a ton everyone, and see you next time! ETA on the next chapter is 2-3 weeks, but it'll be done when it's done.


	6. Chapter Six: Defragment

Hey guys! A couple of things I need to explain. First off, there are a number of reasons why I took so long to post this chapter. I've been very busy lately, as always, and I've been struggling with writing a bit. For some reason, no matter how many times I revise the final version of a chapter, I never quite like it. Wording sounds off, minor details here and there seem as strange as the word weird, and a few minor planning errors have combined to create a very work-intensive process. This chapter went through about seven or eight major revisions alone, so that's mostly responsible for the extremely long cycle times. Also, chapter 5 was supposed to be much longer, but I ended up shortening it due to pacing issues. So expect the next chapter in a week or two, because about 60% of it is already done. Also, I ended up changing my username for several reasons. My old account name was used across several of my accounts, and I ended up changing most of them, so I figured I'd just move on from the name altogether. My username comes from one of the songs of my favorite band, but you probably won't be able to figure it out just based off my name...maybe I'll give you all more clues further down the line.

Enjoy the read.

Sonic and Tails had both suffered grievous injuries from the battle that had taken place the day before. Sonic had third-degree burns all over his body, black fur burned over charred skin. He was able to walk and run a little because of his exceptional pain tolerance and physique, but Doctor Quack had still confined him to his bed. Tails was in an even worse condition, his spine mending from the injury Mecha Sally had inflicted. The fox was still paralyzed from the waist down, and grieving for his mother, who unfortunately had died of her wounds shortly after the battle. Sonic looked up at the sky, still full of the shimmering green shards from Shard's power core.

"How could one little rock have made so many pieces?" He wondered to himself. Tails overheard him and struggled to respond.

"It's really dense."

Sonic looked sadly over at the fox. Tails didn't sound too different from before, but the hedgehog could tell that he was struggling to deal with the loss of his mother. Tails continued in a dejected tone.

"He really was amazing. I can't believe how badly I treated him before..."

"Don't worry about it, buddy. Anyone could have been angry with him. But I'm glad you noticed."

"I just… I just wish I'd had some time to say goodbye to both of them..." Tails broke down, sobbing and wincing as his irrational movements hurt his back.

"Tails… sometimes life travels quickly. Too quickly for them, too quickly for you, and maybe even too quickly for me. But forget the bad moments, the stuff it didn't let you get away with. Life's too short to waste time being sad."

"I don't care! I want my mom back! I want Bunnie and Antoine and Sally back! I want Shard back so I can apologise, and I want Tommy back too! Shard, Tommy and my mom are dead, Antoine's somewhere beneath us in a coma, and it looks like Bunnie and Sally are never coming back!" Tails finished the conversation by stuffing a pillow over his head. With a sigh, Sonic turned his head sideways on his pillow and dozed off to dreamland at the speed of sound.

Rotor and Amy heard the exchange and shared pained glances with each other. Amy whispered, "Think we should hold off on the funeral till they can attend?"

"Probably. It wouldn't be right to deny Tails a final goodbye."

"I hope it doesn't send him over the edge."

"I just hope he isn't there already."

"He's stronger than you give him credit for."

"Doesn't make what he's going through any easier."

Amy just rolled her eyes and walked away. Rotor peeked one last time at the sleeping brothers and followed her out the door. Doctor Quack watched the two leave, and looked down at some papers detailing his patient's statuses.

"Hmm. Given how fast they heal, the steroid treatment I gave them should have them up in a few days. I wish I could say the same for poor Antoine..." Quack put down the charts and closed his eyes. The patients weren't the only tired ones in the hospital that day.

3 days later, deep in the lush forests of Tropical Jungle, a cloaked figure hopped through the last thicket blocking her path. Awaiting her in a small clearing was an old Eggman base, worn and rusty from years of hot and humid conditions. Weakened thanks to an accident that had happened days prior, she struggled to muster enough force to force the broken door open. Wires sparked and a loose panel fell of off the ceiling as she entered the ruins. At the end of the short tunnel awaited her goal; a small, one-man roboticizer still in perfect working order. The figure, clutching a power ring in her hand, started to get to work on its circuit board. When completed, she stood over the control panel, hand hovering over the button and eyes brimming with tears.

"Do ah really wanna do this?" She quietly asked herself, voice quivering. Then it hardened slightly. "If… If ah'd still had mah arm 'an legs, meybe he'd still be...around..."

Hovering no longer, the fingers made their final descent onto the button that would take away her humanity; a small price to pay to protect those she loved.

A huge explosion rang out, deafening every animal unfortunate enough to be near the secret base. The flawed roboticizer continued its agonising work, but the shadow inside didn't so much as flinch. She relished in the pain, knowing every little stinging cell would soon be strong enough to avenge her friends. One final screech of the beam echoed through the dusty hallway before fading into nothing. The entire roboticizer collapsed on top of the Robian, burying it completely. No mobian could have survived underneath the ten tons of steel and circuitry, but a metal fist punched straight through the debris like it was cardboard. No more was Bunnie Rabbot a mobian. With a crunch, she hooked onto the glass edge of the crater she was standing in and hopped over. Her red eyes glowed with murderous rage.

"Priority one override. Annihilate Master."

Back at the hospital, Sonic and Tails had recovered from the worst of their injuries, thanks to remarkable healing factors and top-notch medical care. Rosemary's funeral was in a few hours, and they were returning to their homes to get dressed when they saw Rotor running towards them with a panicked expression on his face.

"Guys! Someone just hacked into one of Eggman's old base and used the roboticizer! They were wearing a cloak, so we couldn't see their face, but we're pretty sure it was a Mobian!"

Sonic's jaw dropped. "Now Eggman has a Mobian working for him? He already beat us, and that was without us having to watch our backs all the time!"

Tails' eyes narrowed."Whoever it is, when we find them they're going to regret betraying their own kind. We'd better interrogate everyone."

Sonic looked down at Tails in surprise.

"What exactly do you mean by that?"

"They need to be stopped...at any cost."

Rotor frantically looked at both of them and shook his head.

"Look, I know you're concerned about Tails right now, but that can wait till we know who the spy is! And you, Tails-" Rotor turned to Tails now "- now is not the time to start a witch hunt! We don't know who it is, and when we do find them, they're going to jail! Whatever you're going through right now, you need to snap out of it."

Tails snorted and looked down. Sonic looked at Rotor apologetically.

"We'd better get home and prep for Rosemary's funeral. I hear Shard's gonna have a ceremony there, too."

"Yeah. It's sad. I don't think we've ever had a loss this bad." Rotor looked down.

"See you tonight." Tails said sadly.

The pair walked away while Rotor went to Freedom HQ to continue analyzing the video footage from the break-in.

Tails and Sonic walked into the funeral, greeted by most of Mobotropolis. Most of the Mobians looked down at the ground, still upset over losing one of their leaders so quickly, but a few threw Tails sympathetic glances. Tails tried to avoid their gaze as much as possible, so they wouldn't see the tears in his eyes.

A few emerald fragments hung in the air, resisting the wind and elements, but the vast majority had spread in the wind. In the three days since their creation, they had likely spread across most of Mobius. What few Nicole had been able to collect with her shaking hands sat in a small jar next to a tiny, unadorned grave. Few mourners stood near it; most spent their time at Rosemary's. Nicole knelt at the foot of it, a cluster of flowers in her hand and a puddle of tears at her feet. Sonic walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"We all miss him. You know that, right?"

"None of them do." Nicole sniffed.

"But none of them matter."

"He never had a chance to prove himself. He died believing everyone hated him."

"It makes his sacrifice even more selfless. Trust me, I'll make sure that his death wasn't for nothing."

"How? Eggman has won. He's slowly wearing us down."

Sonic sighed and stood up.

"I don't know. But we will."

He left Nicole and fought his way through the crowd of people at Rosemary's grave, where he found Tails. The fox was crying, and whispering something about killing someone.

"What did you just say?" A concerned Sonic asked.

"I'm...going...to kill...Eggman...I swear!" Tails growled through clenched teeth, pounding his hand on the ground with every word.

"Buddy, you can't think like that."

Tails looked down at his hands and collapsed, sobbing. Sonic looked down in pity, unsure of how to help him. Amy Rose saw Sonic's plight and walked to Tails' side. She gently grabbed his hand and pulled him up.

"We all know you're going through a lot, Tails. But killing Eggman isn't right."

Tails did his best to wipe the tears out of his eyes.

"I know."

"Good. I think the ceremony is about to begin, so let's get to our seats."

A few short moments later, every Mobian was seated in an assortment of benches and chairs that had been hastily organized outside. Sonic stood up and gave a short speech.

"Rosemary was an amazing Mobian. Without her, our city wouldn't be as strong as it is today. I know that I'll miss her, and you all should as well."

Sonic stepped down from the small podium and sat back into his seat. For a few hours, everybody that had known Rosemary spoke a few words to commemorate her. Soon, an unexpected voice broke up the funeral.

"I've come to pay my respects for Rosemary. Am I late?" Elias called, walking quickly into the cemetery.

"Elias! Why are you here?"

"To be honest, I'm here to take back my crown. I heard that Naugus died."

"Dude, now's not the time. Not at her funeral."

"Make sure everyone comes to the Council Building after the funeral."

"Guess you haven't heard yet… it was destroyed."

"That just makes it even more suitable. Get everyone over there, if you can."

"I'll tell 'em after this final speech. Good luck getting the O.K. from the council."

Elias got up from his seat and, obscuring his face with a large hood, walked out of the cemetery.

"...and so, we commit our fallen leader to the earth." The pastor finished, nodding to the crew ready to drop the laden casket into the ground. Once the workers had finished shoveling soil into the grave, Sonic ran up to the podium.

"Everyone! Go to the ruins of the council building after this. There's a surprise waiting for you."

The Mobians slowly filtered out the gates. Sonic jumped over the entire crowd and blazed towards the council building. He saw Elias, talking to the Council, through holes in the rusted steel beams that comprised the walls. The young squirrel was in the middle of a hot debate with the other council members when he noticed Sonic outside. With a smile, he waved and made hand motions for Sonic to come in.

Sonic walked over to the door, taking his time. The broken entrance resisted his push.

"Come on, budge already!" Sonic grunted under his breath, reluctant to break the doorway further by pushing too hard.

"Have you tried pulling?" A sinister voice rasped. Sonic turned to face the sound, just in time for the source to drop down and slam him in the head with a metal pipe. Geoffrey looked down at his work, a small grin on his face.

"Now onto the pretender."

Thanks for reading! For those who made it past the enormous foreword, was it good? Bad? Did you love it? Hate it? Reviews with clear criticisms are the most useful for me, so even if you liked the chapter, please feel free to pick it apart until it's nothing but bones. That'll make the next chapter better.

I'd tell you to stay frosty, but I'm a Halo fan. See ya.


End file.
